Although the vending industry is, in general, a very sophisticated industry, newspaper vending has long been the neglected stepchild. Whereas soft drink, candy and cigarette vendors efficiently distribute one item for one exacted fee and have developed elaborate machines for frustrating and often preventing cheating and theft, the newspaper vendors continue to use simplistic vending machines and to rely upon the honor system as the sole means of crime prevention. Unfortunately and sadly, the honor system is failing miserably in many locations across the country. Existing newspaper machines are basicly comprised of a box with a hinged door outfitted with a coin release lock. A dozen or so newspapers are stacked in the box and the door is locked. The honorable customer places his coin in the coin box, unlocks the door, removes one paper from the stack, and closes (relocks) the door. The ever expanding number of dishonorable customers places his coin in the coin box, unlocks the door, takes a newspaper from the stack, and holds the door open or places a stone on the door while other persons freely avail themselves of remaining newspapers.
Addressing the newspaper vending problems has been difficult due to the large size and bulk of the typical newspaper. Unlike soft drinks, candy and cigarettes, newspapers do not lend themselves to vending in typical sophisticated devices where small, streamlined items slip through tubes or drop through chutes or are advanced by augers and springs. Thus, a new vending machine is necessary to address the unique problems of the newspaper industry. Furthermore, no longer can vending machine manufacturer be satisfied with the fact that their machine successfully vends one item at a time. Rather, frustrating would be cheaters and thieves requires a certain amount of genius in design.